The transcription factor ERF108 interacts with AUXIN RESPONSE FACTORs to mediate cotton fiber secondary cell wall biosynthesis.

Phytohormones play indispensable roles in plant growth and development. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying phytohormone-mediated regulation of fiber secondary cell wall (SCW) formation in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) remain largely underexplored. Here, we provide mechanistic evidence for functional interplay between the APETALA2/ethylene response factor (AP2/ERF) transcription factor GhERF108 and auxin response factors GhARF7-1 and GhARF7-2 in dictating the ethylene-auxin signaling crosstalk that regulates fiber SCW biosynthesis. Specifically, in vitro cotton ovule culture revealed that ethylene and auxin promote fiber SCW deposition. GhERF108 RNA interference (RNAi) cotton displayed remarkably reduced cell wall thickness compared with controls. GhERF108 interacted with GhARF7-1 and GhARF7-2 to enhance the activation of the MYB transcription factor gene GhMYBL1 (MYB domain-like protein 1) in fibers. GhARF7-1 and GhARF7-2 respond to auxin signals that promote fiber SCW thickening. GhMYBL1 RNAi and GhARF7-1 and GhARF7-2 virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) cotton displayed similar defects in fiber SCW formation as GhERF108 RNAi cotton. Moreover, the ethylene and auxin responses were reduced in GhMYBL1 RNAi plants. GhMYBL1 directly binds to the promoters of GhCesA4-1, GhCesA4-2, and GhCesA8-1 and activates their expression to promote cellulose biosynthesis, thereby boosting fiber SCW formation. Collectively, our findings demonstrate that the collaboration between GhERF108 and GhARF7-1 or GhARF7-2 establishes ethylene-auxin signaling crosstalk to activate GhMYBL1, ultimately leading to the activation of fiber SCW biosynthesis.

Protective Effects and Potential Mechanisms of Dietary Resveratrol Supplementation on the Spleen of Broilers Under Heat Stress.

Resveratrol (RSV) is a natural polyphenolic compound with potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. This study aimed to investigate the protective effects of RSV supplementation on the inflammatory responses of broilers during heat stress. A total of 432 28-d-old white-feathered broilers (817 crossbred chicken) with an average weight of 549 ± 4 g were randomly allotted to 4 equal groups (Half male and half female, 6 replicates/group, 18 chickens/replicate), including normal temperature (NT) group (24 ± 2°C for 24 h/d, basal diet), NT+RSV group (24 ± 2°C for 24 h/d, basal diet + RSV), heat stress (HT) group (37 ± 2°C for 8 h/d, basal diet), and HT+RSV group (37 ± 2°C for 8 h/d, basal diet + RSV). Serum samples were collected on d 7 and 14 of heat stress, and thymus, spleen, jejunum, and bursa of Fabricius samples were collected and analyzed on d14. RSV treatment decreased the feed conversion ratio, partially reversed the negative alternations in body weight, average daily gain, and average daily feed intake caused by heat stress. RSV treatment also decreased the elevated levels of corticosterone on d 14, adrenocorticotropic hormone, and triiodothyronine in serum on d 7 caused by heat stress, and significantly increased the villus height to crypt depth ratio in the jejunum on d 14. Dietary RSV also reduced heat stress-induced splenic pro-inflammatory cytokine concentrations. TUNEL assay showed that RSV significantly reduced heat stress-induced the number of apoptotic cells. Remarkably, RSV down-regulated some splenic related genes for apoptosis genes, including BCL-2, Apaf-1, and MDM2 mRNA levels induced by heat stress. According to GO and KEGG enrichment analyses, the differential genes between HT and HT + RSV groups were mainly associated with immune system process, hematopoietic or lymphoid organ development, and toll-like receptor signaling pathway. The relative mRNA expression of NF-κB, heat shock protein 70 (HSP70), and p38 MAPK were markedly decreased by the combination of RSV and heat stress. These findings showed that RSV might reduce the splenic inflammatory response in heat-stressed white-feather broilers by inhibiting heat stress-induced activation of NF-B, MAPK, and HSP70, as well as inhibiting the activation of mitochondrial apoptotic pathways.

Dietary resveratrol supplement improves carcass traits and meat quality of Pekin ducks.

With the increase of consumer demand for high-quality animal protein, it becomes imperative to improve meat quality through nutritional strategy. Resveratrol is a plant polyphenol that exists in grapes and grape products, and it has been considered as a potential functional feed additive. Here, we aimed to explore the optimal dose of resveratrol in Pekin ducks' diet and its effect on improving meat quality. A total of 432 male Pekin ducks (1-day-old) were selected and randomly allotted to 4 treatment groups, with each group containing 6 replicates. Four different levels of resveratrol were evaluated (0, 150, 300, and 450 mg/kg) for 42 d. The carcass traits, meat quality, and muscle fiber characteristics of Pekin ducks were investigated. Results showed that a∗24h, b∗24h, intramuscular fat, crude protein, total flavor amino acid content of duck breast muscle, and a∗45min of duck leg muscle were increased (P < 0.05) by resveratrol. Resveratrol also reduced abdominal fat deposition, shear force, L∗45min of breast muscle and drip loss, shear force, and L∗45min of leg muscle. In addition, the breast muscle fibers of resveratrol-fed ducks had lower diameter and cross-sectional area and higher density (P < 0.05). Overall, we conclude that dietary resveratrol supplement can effectively improve Pekin duck meat quality, the optimal additional range in diet being 300 to 450 mg/kg. Its underlying mechanism might be partly through stimulation of intramuscular fat and flavor amino deposition and alteration of muscle fiber characteristics.

A histone deacetylase, GhHDT4D, is positively involved in cotton response to drought stress.

Acetylation and deacetylation of histones are important for regulating a series of biological processes in plants. Histone deacetylases (HDACs) control the histone deacetylation that plays an important role in plant response to abiotic stress. In our study, we show the evidence that GhHDT4D (a member of the HD2 subfamily of HDACs) is involved in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) response to drought stress. Overexpression of GhHDT4D in Arabidopsis increased plant tolerance to drought, whereas silencing GhHDT4D in cotton resulted in plant sensitivity to drought. Simultaneously, the H3K9 acetylation level was altered in the GhHDT4D silenced cotton, compared with the controls. Further study revealed that GhHDT4D suppressed the transcription of GhWRKY33, which plays a negative role in cotton defense to drought, by reducing its H3K9 acetylation level. The expressions of the stress-related genes, such as GhDREB2A, GhDREB2C, GhSOS2, GhRD20-1, GhRD20-2 and GhRD29A, were significantly decreased in the GhHDT4D silenced cotton, but increased in the GhWRKY33 silenced cotton. Given these data together, our findings suggested that GhHDT4D may enhance drought tolerance by suppressing the expression of GhWRKY33, thereby activating the downstream drought response genes in cotton.

Dietary resveratrol supplementation inhibits heat stress-induced high-activated innate immunity and inflammatory response in spleen of yellow-feather broilers.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of dietary resveratrol supplementation on innate immunity and inflammatory responses in the spleen of yellow-feather broilers under heat stress. A total of 288 yellow-feather broilers of 28-day-old were randomly assigned to 3 treatment groups with 6 replicates. A thermo-neutral group (TN) (24 ± 2°C) received a basal diet and another 2 heat-stressed groups (37 ± 2°C for 8 h/D and 24 ± 2°C for the remaining time) were fed the basal diet (HT) or basal diet with 500 mg/kg resveratrol (HT+Res) for 14 consecutive days. The results showed that heat stress decreased (P < 0.05) the growth index of thymus, spleen, and bursa of Fabricius, reduced (P < 0.05) the levels of complement C3 and C4 in serum. Heat stress also caused activation of inflammatory immune responses evidenced by increased (P < 0.05) the mRNA abundance of HSP (heat shock protein) 70, toll-like receptor (TLR)1, TLR4, TLR5, myeloid differentiation factor-88 (MyD88), nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain 1 (NOD1), Dectin-1, transforming growth factor-ß-activated kinase 1 (TAK1), interleukin (IL)-1, IL-4, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, but decreased the mRNA abundance of interferon (IFN)-γ, activated nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB), mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK), and phosphoinositide-3 kinases-protein kinase B (PI3K/AKT) signaling pathways. Dietary supplementation with resveratrol improved (P < 0.05) the growth index of thymus, spleen and bursa Fabricius, and increased (P < 0.05) the serum level of complement C3 under heat stress. In addition, resveratrol reduced (P < 0.05) the mRNA abundance of HSP70, TLR4, TLR5, NOD1, Dectin-1, and TAK1, and inhibited the NF-κB, MAPK and PI3K/AKT signaling pathway via down-regulated the phosphorylation of p65, extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1/2, c-Jun N-terminal protein kinase and AKT, as well as decreased the inflammatory cytokines expression, including IL-1, IL-4, IL-6, and TNF-α in the spleen under heat stress. Collectively, dietary resveratrol could have beneficial effects to regulate innate immunity and inflammatory response, via inhibiting the activation of NF-κB, MAPK, and PI3K/AKT signaling pathways induced by heat stress in the spleen.

A cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) WRKY transcription factor (GhWRKY22) participates in regulating anther/pollen development.

Anther/pollen development is a highly programmed process in flowering plants. However, the molecular mechanism of regulating anther/pollen development is still largely unclear so far. Here, we report a cotton WRKY transcription factor (GhWRKY22) that functions in anther/pollen development. Quantitative RT-PCR and GUS activity analyses revealed that GhWRKY22 is predominantly expressed in the late developing anther/pollen of cotton. The transgenic Arabidopsis plants expressing GhWRKY22 displayed the male fertility defect with the fewer viable pollen grains. Expression of the genes involved in jasmonate (JA) biosynthesis was up-regulated, whereas expression of the JA-repressors (JAZ1 and JAZ8) was down-regulated in the transgenic Arabidopsis plants expressing GhWRKY22, compared with those in wild type. Yeast one-hybrid and ChIP-qPCR assays demonstrated that GhWRKY22 modulated the expression of JAZ genes by directly binding to their promoters for regulating anther/pollen development. Yeast two-hybrid assay indicated that GhMYB24 could interact with GhJAZ8-A and GhJAZ13-A. Furthermore, expression of AtMYB24, AtPAL2 and AtANS2 was enhanced in the transgenic Arabidopsis plants, owing to GhWRKY22 overexpression. Taking the data together, our results suggest that GhWRKY22 acts as a transcriptional repressor to regulate anther/pollen development possibly by modulating the expression of the JAZ genes.

Effect of resveratrol on growth performance, rectal temperature and serum parameters of yellow-feather broilers under heat stress.

This study investigated the effect of dietary resveratrol supplementation on growth performance, rectal temperature, and serum parameters of yellow-feather broilers under heat stress. A total of 480 yellow-feather broilers (28-day-old) were randomly allotted to five groups with six replicates. A thermoneutral group (TN) (24 ± 2°C) received a basal diet and another four heat-stressed groups (37 ± 2°C for 8 hr/day and 24 ± 2°C for the remaining time) were fed the basal diet or basal diet with 200, 350, and 500 mg/kg resveratrol for 14 consecutive days. The results revealed that resveratrol supplementation improved average daily gain (p = 0.001), and decreased (p < 0.05) rectal temperature from d 3 when compared with heat-stressed group without resveratrol. In addition, supplementation with resveratrol at 350 or 500 mg/kg lowered (p < 0.05) the contents of corticosterone, adrenocorticotropic hormone, cholesterol, triglycerides, uric acid, malonaldehyde, and activities of aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, and lactate dehydrogenase, increased (p < 0.05) the levels of triiodothyronine, the ratio of triiodothyronine to thyroxine, total protein, glutathione, and activities of alkaline phosphatase, total superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase, though with few fluctuation. In conclusion, supplementation with resveratrol can improve the growth performance by positively regulating serum metabolic parameters and alleviating tissue oxidant damage of broilers under heat stress.

Effect of a microbial phytase on growth performance, plasma parameters and apparent ileal amino acid digestibility in Youxian Sheldrake fed a low-phosphorus corn-soybean diet.

OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the effect of microbial phytase supplementation on growth performance, tibia ash, plasma parameters, apparent ileal digestibility (AID) of amino acid (AA) and apparent digestibility of nutrients in Youxian Sheldrakes fed with low-phosphorus (P) corn-soybean diets. METHODS: A total of 350 Youxian Sheldrakes (7d old) were randomly divided into 5 treatment groups: positive control (PC) group has adequate available P diet (0.42% and 0.38%, starter and grower), negative control (NC) group were deficient in available P (0.32% and 0.28%, starter and grower) and NC diet was supplemented with 3 levels of microbial phytase (500, 750, and 1,000 U/kg). RESULTS: Dietary supplementation of phytase in NC diet improved the average daily gain, increased the levels of serum calcium (Ca), tibia Ca and P, AID of AA and apparent digestibility of energy and Ca in starter stage (p<0.05). There was an increased (p<0.001) in the utilization of P from 17.3% to 23.9%. Phytase supplementation (1,000 U/kg) has shown that the AID of His, Thr, Val, indispensable AA, Glu, Pro, and dispensable AA was higher (p<0.05) than that of NC. Moreover, phytase supplementation improved (p<0.05) serum and tibia Ca and P, AID of AA and apparent digestibility of dry matter, crude protein, energy, P and Ca, and reduced (p<0.05) feed to gain ratio (F/G) and the levels of serum alkaline phosphatase in grower stage. Likewise, an increase (p<0.001) in the utilization of P was noticed from 12.6% to 17.2%. Supplement phytase at 750 U/kg improved the AID of His, Thr, Asp, Cys, Pro, and Ser (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: The microbial phytase supplement could improve growth performance, AID of some AA and apparent utilization of other nutrients in Youxian Sheldrakes, and reduce excreta P load to environment.

Resveratrol modulates intestinal morphology and HSP70/90, NF-κB and EGF expression in the jejunal mucosa of black-boned chickens on exposure to circular heat stress.

The aim of this study was to investigate whether supplementation with resveratrol could alleviate intestinal injuries and to explore how resveratrol regulates heat shock protein (HSP)70, HSP90, nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) and epidermal growth factor (EGF) expression in the jejunal mucosa of black-boned chickens under circular heat stress. A total of 300 black-boned chicks of 42-d-old were randomly assigned to five treatment groups. The positive control chickens were kept in a normal-temperature (NT, 24 ± 2 °C) chamber and fed with a basal diet. The other four groups were kept in a circular high-temperature (HT, 37 ± 2 °C) chamber for 8 h and fed a basal diet supplemented with 0, 200, 400, or 600 mg per kg of resveratrol for 15 days. The results showed that the heat-stress responses damaged the villus structures of the jejunum and ileum, resulting in shortened intestinal villi, deepened crypts, and a reduced villus height to crypt depth (V/C) ratio and decreased the numbers of goblet cells and lymphocytes. Heat stress also caused increased mRNA and protein expression of HSP70, HSP90 and NF-κB, and reduced EGF in the jejunal mucosa. Dietary supplementation with 400 mg per kg of resveratrol improved the villus morphology, increased the numbers of goblet cells and lymphocytes, attenuated the mRNA overexpression of HSP70, HSP90 and NF-κB on the 6th, 10th and 15th day of heat stress (P < 0.05), and activated the expression of EGF (P < 0.05) in the jejunal mucosa. Resveratrol reduced protein expression of HSP70, HSP90 and NF-κB in the jejunal villi after 15 days of heat stress, and increased EGF expression from the lamina propria toward the epithelial cells of the villi. These results suggest that dietary resveratrol offers a potential nutritional strategy to improve the intestinal morphology and alleviate jejunum mucosa injuries by modulating the mRNA and protein expression of HSPs, and the epithelial growth factor and transcription factor in black-boned chickens subjected to circular heat stress.

Sequence analysis of the complete mitochondrial genome of Youxian sheldrake.

Youxian sheldrake is excellent native breeds in Hunan province in China. The complete mitochondrial (mt) genome sequence plays an important role in the accurate determination of phylogenetic relationships among metazoans. This is the first study to determine the complete mitochondrial genome sequence of Youxian sheldrake using PCR-based amplification and Sanger sequencing. The characteristic of the entire mitochondrial genome was analyzed in detail, the total length of the mitogenome is 16,605 bp, with the base composition of 29.21% A, 22.18% T, 32.84% C, 15.77% G in the Youxian sheldrake. It contained 2 ribosomal RNA genes, 13 protein-coding genes, 22 transfer RNA genes and a major non-coding control region (D-loop region). The complete mitochondrial genome sequence of Youxian sheldrake provided an important data for further study of the phylogenetics of poultry, and available data for the genetics and breeding.

Gene organization and complete sequence of the mitochondrial genome of Linwu mallard.

Linwu mallard is an excellent native breeds from Hunan province in China. This is the first study to determine the complete mitochondrial genome sequence of L. mallard using PCR-based amplification and Sanger sequencing. The characteristic of the entire mitochondrial genome was analyzed in detail, with the base composition of 29.19% A, 22.19% T, 32.83% C, 15.79% G in the L. mallard (16,605 bp in length). It contained 2 ribosomal RNA genes, 13 protein-coding genes, 22 transfer RNA genes and a major non-coding control region (D-loop region). The complete mitochondrial genome sequence of L. mallard will be useful for the phylogenetics of poultry, and be available as basic data for the genetics and breeding.

The complete mitochondrial genome of the Huang Lang chicken.

Huang Lang chicken is the native breed of Hunan province in China. The complete mitochondrial (mt) genome sequence plays an important role in the accurate determination of phylogenetic relationships among metazoans. It is the first time that the complete mt genome sequence of the Huang Lang chicken was reported in this work, which was determined through the polymerase chain reaction-based method. The total length of the mitogenome is 16,786 bp, with the base composition of 30.25% for A, 23.71% for T, 32.53% for C and 13.51% for G, in the order C > A > T > G feature occurs in the Huang Lang chicken. It contains the typical structure, including two ribosomal RNA genes, 13 protein-coding genes, 22 transfer RNA genes and 1 non-coding control region (D-loop region). The complete mt genome sequence of the Huang Lang chicken provided an important data for further study on the genetic mechanism.

Determination and analysis of the complete mitochondrial genome sequence of Taoyuan chicken.

Taoyuan chicken is excellent native breeds in China. This study firstly determined the complete mitochondrial genome sequence of Taoyuan chicken using PCR-based amplification and Sanger sequencing. The characteristic of the entire mitochondrial genome was analyzed in detail, with the base composition of 30.26% A, 23.79% T, 32.44% C, 13.50% G in the Taoyuan chicken (16,784 bp in length). It contained 2 ribosomal RNA genes, 13 protein-coding genes, 22 transfer RNA genes and a major non-coding control region (D-loop region). The complete mitochondrial genome sequence of Taoyuan chicken will be useful for the phylogenetics of poultry, and be available as basic data for the genetics and breeding.